Cellular phones, tablets and other mobile electronic devices are ubiquitous in today's society, and are useful tools for staying connected with each other, retrieving information, and generally providing a platform for mobile communications between various parties. However, the attachment that members of society have to their cellular phones or other mobile devices and the addictive nature of the use of such devices, has also created significant problems when such use is concurrent with and/or interfering with the performance of other more important tasks that require the user's attention.
There are many daily activities and interactions that can be detrimentally affected by the inappropriate usage and distraction of a mobile device. In particular, the use of a mobile electronic device while the user is operating a motor vehicle, such as a car, is particularly problematic. Often, such device usage requires the visual attention of the user or driver, which, in turn, takes away from their visual attention to the road and their driving task. As a result, drivers that text and drive are a particular problem on today's highways.
Texting, in a general sense, is the typing out of a text message on a cellular telephone or other mobile device (referred to as SMS or MMS). Often, it is done using a very small keyboard on the device. Sending an email using a cellular phone presents the same problems as texting, and so both texting and emailing will be referred herein to generally as “texting”. The resulting text message can be immediately received by another cellular telephone or computer. However, in typing out a text message, the driver generally has to look at the small keyboard provided with the mobile device, and look away from the road or their other activity temporarily. While some speech recognition capabilities on current devices have reduced the need for some typing, a large majority of device users still type out a text message using a keyboard. Even if speech recognition is utilized, they still are reviewing, modifying, and/or sending the text message while looking at the device screen or keyboard, and away from their main task, such as driving. As such, it takes their visual attention away from the more important tasks at hand.
Texting while driving is a particular problem as it has been estimated that sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. That amount of time is equivalent, at a 55 mile-per-hour driving speed, of driving the length of an entire football field generally blind to the road and to the surroundings.
In another area, the general use of mobile devices during the administration of healthcare is also problematic. As may be appreciated, attending to a patient, such as to administer care, perform major or minor surgery, or otherwise tend to the patient is a task that should occupy the individual attention of a caregiver. However, often such tasks involve active monitoring for a particular period of time where a caregiver might see a window, however brief, to engage their device. A distracted caregiver operating or monitoring a patient's vital signs may miss important symptoms or conditions.
As a result, there have been significant car and train traffic accidents, as well as medical accidents that have been attributed to a distracted driver or care provider who was attempting to text or otherwise engage with their mobile device while otherwise engaged. Such issues as driving and texting or being interrupted during a work task are examples of a larger set of problems involving mobile devices that are classified or referred to as “distracted living”.
Mobile devices and their constant ringing, signaling and interrupting during daily living, including during sleeping periods, often cause significant disruptions in a user's life. The overuse and abuse of such devices in routine daily life and in competition with other tasks is a problem for young and old alike. For example, when a person is supposed to be engaged in another task, such as sleeping or in social interactions, they may be awoken or distracted by their device, such as through constant audible and visual notifications of incoming texts, incoming emails, incoming calls, etc. This is particularly a problem with children and young adults. For example, young adults may be in their bedroom for the purposes of sleeping or doing homework according to their parents' wishes, but may be actually engaging in communications, via text, email, or other applications. Distracted living and texting, communicating and device use in school is also a significant distraction. Use of mobile devices in the educational environment is often a detriment to the entire educational process.
While texting is discussed generally herein as an example, simply visually engaging a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, for the purposes of sending/reviewing a message, sending or reviewing emails, making a call, playing a game, engaging a device application or “app” and/or interfacing with the Internet are also incidents that may significantly increase the risk of the distracted device user getting into an accident, or a caregiver missing an important patient event, or a person generally being distracted in some detrimental way.
Various attempts have been made to address these issues, particularly the issue of texting and driving. Such proposed solutions include various systems, for example, that are interactive between a phone and a vehicle in order to monitor the speed of the vehicle, and essentially shut down the operation of a phone or other cellular device within the vehicle. However, generally such systems are elaborate and complicated (and thus, expensive) systems that involve wireless communications between the vehicle, such as through the onboard diagnostic (OBD) systems, and an interaction with the operational system of the phone. Based upon the evaluated vehicle information from the onboard diagnostics, various of the functions of the phone are shut down, or otherwise hindered, to prevent the use of the phone while the vehicle is in motion. However, not only are such systems expensive and complicated, they also may interfere with the need for emergency use of the device, such as to make an emergency telephone call, while the vehicle may still be in motion.
Also, such vehicle-devoted systems do not address other distracted uses of mobile devices. There is also a need to ensure that device users are not using their phone when they are engaged in activities that require their attention, such as on the job and during work time, but do not involve a vehicle. For example, physicians, nurses and other medical workers should be attentive to their tasks, particularly in such critical areas as an operating room. Sales representatives, office workers and others should also ensure they are attending to their primary tasks and are not distracted by their phone or other device.
Still further there is a need, in certain scenarios, to verify that a person was indeed not using their phone and were engaged in their primary task at hand and were not distracted at certain times. Currently, phone or other activity, or the lack thereof, might be determined only through tedious and time consuming methods. When a person is questioned about distracted driving or the distracted performance of their tasks, generally they only have their word to rely upon.
Accordingly, it is desirable to address these issues regarding distracted driving or working or living, as well as to address general life distractions that are based on use of mobile devices, such as cellular phones. It is further desirable to provide a solution without a complicated and expensive system, such as a system which monitors vehicle usage and essentially takes over the cellular phone or other mobile device. Still further it is desirable to provide a platform for verifying, such as with documented information, that a person was not using their phone or other mobile device, or alternatively for verifying that a person was not using their phone in the performance of a particular task or in a certain time frame. The present invention addresses these issues and other issues as set forth below.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the sequence of operations as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes of various illustrated components, will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened, for example, for clarity or illustration.